Pallet and grate for sintering machines



May 15, 1928. 1,669,458

- J. c. DEVICK PALLET AND GRATE FOR SINTERING M ACHI NES 4 Filed 00+.14, 1925 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEK May 15, 1928. 1,669,458

J. C. DEVICK PALLET AND GRATE FOR SINTERING MACHINES Filed Oct. 14, 41925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V34 34 73 14 J k l L 1 I 1/ 1/ W Fig.5

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i 5 prising an upper supportin Patented May 15, 1928.

UNITED-4 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH CHARLES DEVICE, F HELENA, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN SHELT-ING- AND REIINING COMPANY, 01

SEY.

Application filed October The invention relates to sintering ma- .chinesof the Dwight-Lloyd type and more I particularly to a novel arrangementof grate bars on the pallets of the endless con- 5 veyor. 1

It is usual in such constructions to provide'a 'conveyorof the endlesstype made up of tracks or pallets on which grates are mounted to conveyore from the feeding end past a muflie furnace, where the ore is -firdor sintered to the discharge end where the ore is dumped from theconveyor into a suitable device, the operation being continuous. Thepallets run over a course comtrack usually level and extending from thefeeding end to the dischargingjend where the pallets fall over asuitable guiding wheel onto an inclined track which slopes downwardlyfrom the discharge end to the feeding end where the pallets are liftedby means of a bull wheel up to the upper level track.

According to the invention each pallet may be made of a suitable framehaving preferably four journals on which wheels are mounted to allow thepallet to run along the rails of the tracks in its course. The

frame may comprise a plurality of transverse frame members which connecta pair of longitudinal frame members. On the transverse frame membersmay be supported the grate bars which may extend longitudinally, thatis, in the direction of travel of the pallet, the grate bars beingloosely held in position by means of a retaining bar loosely passingthrough holes in the bars.

According tothe invention the grate bars may be self cleaning. Any crustor sinte'r which may adhere to the bars as in the air 40 spaces betweenthe bars will be efiectively broken loose when the palletsare shaken andjarred by their drop over the discharge end. Furthermore, the grate barsmay move relatively to each other at different places along the courseof travel of theallet, this arrangementcausing' a further se f cleaningof the bars.

- The longitudinal arrangement of the grate bars with the air spacestherebetween pro-- vides' a more uniform distribution of airpassageswhich aids in a more uniform sintering of the ore.- A furtheradvantage of the invention is that the lon itudinal grate bars maybemade shorter t an the transnnw YORK, n. 11;, A coaroaarron or NEW sna-PALLET AND GRATE FOR SINTERING MAGHINES.

14, 1925. SerialNo. 62,369.

' verse grate bars as formerly used thereby obviating difficulties dueto warping,'it being understood .that'shorter bars will not warp as muchas the longer bars. Furthermore, the longitudinal arrangement of therate bars and the dropping endwise thereo as the pallet traverses itscourse, willcause less breakage to grate bars than if the grate barsdropped sideways.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of grate bars in whichonlytwo different kinds are necessary for equipping a pallet. Theintermediate grate bars may be identical and the two end bars may beidentical, the arrangement of spacing lugs on the grate bars forproviding the necessar air spaces eliminating the necessity of di ferentright and left end grate bars.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be obviousfrom the following particular description of one form of mechanismembodying the invention or from an inspection of the accompanyingdrawings; and the invention also consists in certain new and novelfeatures of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forthand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I have. shown for purposes ofillustrationone form of mechanism embodying the invention, in which gFig. 1 is a planview of a pallet according. v to the invention showingthe relation of adjoining pallets when the pallets are travcling alongthe upper straight track;

Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing how thegrate bars are retained by the retaining bar and the mount- I ing of thewheels on the pallet frame;

Fig. 3 is a. section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the position ofalternate intermediate grate barswith respect to the pallet frame whenthe pallet is traveling along the upper straight track; a

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4: 4-of Fig. 1 showing the relation of.the other intermediate grate bars with respect to the pallet frame whenthe pallet is traveling along the upper straight track; v Fig. 5 is abottom plan view of either the right or left end grate bar;

Fig. 6 is a section of one of the intermediate bars taken through theretaining hole thereof; and V tended to be as generic in theirapplication to similar parts as the art will permit.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 7, the endlessconve or comprises a plurality of pallets 10 running on suitable tracksand forming an endless train. A straight level upper track 3 and astraight inclined track 4 are provided between the feeding end and thedischarge end. Suitable guiding devices may be provided at the feedingend and discharge end for guiding the pallets from one track to theother. At vthe feeding end the guiding device may comprise a bull wheel1 and a curved guide 5 while at the discharge end the guiding device maycomprise a pair of curved guides 2. The hull wheel 1 which may be drivenbya suitable source of power lifts the pallets 10 from the lower track 4to the upper track 3 causing the pallets to be pushed along the uppertrack 3 until the drop over the discharge end. The ore is ed onto theconveyor at the feeding end and is discharged when the pallets drop overthe discharge end, a suitable furnace arrangement (not shown) beingarranged altzing the upper straight track between the en s.

Each pallet 10 may comprise a frame 18 made up of longitudinal members11 and 12 connected by transverse end members 13 and 14 and transverseintermediate members- 15 and 16. The frame 18 which may be a casting mayhave suitable journals 19' on which are mounted wheels 20 which conveythe pallet along the rails of the tracks-in its course. The longitudinalmembers 11 and 12 are higher than the transverse members 13, 14, 15, 16so that parts 21 and 22 thereof will extend flush with the tops of thegrate bars 23 as shown clearly in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the longitudinalframe members 11 and 12 may be provided with walls 24 and 25 to retainthe ore.

Resting upon the transverse members 13,

14, 15, 16 are the grate bars 23. The grate bars are made up of an evennumber of like intermediate bars 27 andtwo like end bars 28. Each bar 23has a retaining ortion 29 near the middle thereof on its bttom sidethrough which is a retaining hole 30.- The longitudinal frame members 11and 12 of the frame 18 have holes through which a retaining bar 31extends, said retaining bar passing loosely through the retaining holes30 in the grate bars 23 as shown clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. Each gratebar has an annular flange 32 on its retaining portion 29 around theretaining hole 30 to eans protect the retaining bar 31 from the heat.

space the'bodies of t e grate bars to provide the necessary air space.The bodies of the bars are furthermore spaced from each other and fromthe longitudinal frame members These annular flan cs '32 also operate to1]. and 12 of the frame 18 by suitable spacing lugs, the particulararrangement of which will be described hereinafter more in detail.

Each of the intermediate bars 27 has stop lugs 34 on its lowersidebetween the ends thereof cooperating with the end transverse members13 and 14 of the frame 18. lugs are so spaced that they allow a slightendwise movement of the bars during the course of travel of the pallet?These lugs are furthermore so arranged with respect to the retaining hols 30 that when the rear lugs 34 are against the rear end transversemembers 13, the retaining ho1es 30 in the alternate intermediate barsare'centered with respect to the retaining bar 31 as shown in These Fig.4, while the retaining holes of the intermediate :grate bars 27 toprovide the necessary air spaces between the bars and:

the longitudinal members 11 and 12 of the frame. This feature makes itossib'le that only two kinds of bars are nee ed.

The self-cleaning feature of the invention is attained as follows. Asthe pallets 10 are pushed up over the bull wheel 1' at the feeding end,all of the grate bars will drop back until their rear stop lugs 34 abutthe rear transverse end members 13, ,the tionbeing shown in Figs. 3 and4. The grate bars will substantially maintain this position until thedischarge end is reached when all the bars will drop forward until theirforward stop lugs 34 abut the forward transverse end 'member 14 of theframe as the pallet drops over the discharge posiend. It is the customto have the length of clearly shown in Fig. 7. This shock together withthe loose arrangement of the grate bars 0 crates to jar and shake loosethe sinter int t e place provided for it. When e pallets so that, aseach pallet is pushed over thedischarge bars thereby shaking loose anycrust which means.

the allets reach the straight lower inclined trac 4 the are travelingupside down, the grate bars anging from the retaining bars.

This causes a set of alternate bars to move longitudinally to assumepositions with their retaining holes centered with respect to theretaining bar. Furthermore, since all the bars are more or lessbalanced, the jarring of the pallets along their course causesadditional're'lative movement between the grate may still adhere. Whenthe pallets reach the bull wheel 1 at the feed end, the other setofalternate grate bars will drop back, the first set of grate bars havingtheir stop lugs 34 already substantially against the tive movement ofgrate bars on a pallet is which may cause burning out o independent ofother pallets and is caused only by' the movements and positions of theparticular pallet.

It will easily be seen that the invention provides a pallet constructionin which only two'kinds of grate bars are required thus chea suing themanufacture thereof as only two fiinds of patterns are necessary, anddecreasing the amount of storage space necessary to store replacementbars, Furthermore,'the loose mounting of the bars allowing endwiselongitudinal movement and relative movement between'adjoining barsallows them to effectively shake loose. all the sinter or crust whichmay adhere or stick to them after passing the discharge end and thegrate bars and other troubles. This last feature is attained without inany way causing any larger breakage in grate bars than heretofore, theendwise movement of the grate bars beingmuch easier ,on them than alateral movement.

While I have shown and described and have pointed outin the annexedclaims certain novel features of my invention, it will be understoodthat various omissions, substitutions and changes in the forms anddetails of the device illustrated and in its 0 eration may be made bythose skilled in t e art without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

I 4 1. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame, a piurali ofgrate bars, and

means for securing sai so that'said bars may move longitudinallyrelativelylto each other as the pallet'traverses its-course. v

' 2.. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame, a plurality, ofgrate bars, and

bars to said frame,

means for securing said bars to said frame so that said bars may movelongitudinally relatively to said frame as the pallet traverses itscourse.

3. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame, a plurality of gratebars, and

means for securing said bars to said frame bottoms of said grate'barsbetween said end members to limit longitudinal movement of sald gratebars, means for securlng said retaining portions to said retainingmember sothat alternate grate bars have their retaining portionscentered with respect to W I said retaining member when their forwardlugs are in engagement with the forward 1 end member and other gratebars have their retaining portions centered with respect tosaidretaining member when their rear lugsare in engagement with the rearend member,

whereby said grate bars may move longi tudinally relatively to saidframe and to each other as the pallet traverses its course.

5. 'A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having longitudinalside frame members connectedvbytransverse end members and transverseintermediate members,

a plurality of grate bars arranged longitudinally on said transversemembers between said side members, each bar havlng a retainlng portionwlth ahole, a' retalning bar passing through said end members andloosely through said holes, lugs on the bottoms of said grate barsbetween said end members to limit longitudinal movement of said gratebars, alternate grate bars havingtheir holes centered with respect tosaid retaining bar when their havingtheir holes centered with respectto.

said retaining bar when their rear lugs are in en agement'with the 'rearend member, Wheriy said grate bars may move longitudinally relatively tosaid frame and to each other as the pallet traverses its course.

6. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having longitudinalside frame members connected by transverse end members and transverseintermediate members, a plurality of grate bars arranged longitudinallyon said transverse members between said side members, each bar having aretaining portion located-between said intermediate members with a-hole, a vretaining .b'ar passing through said end m'embers and looselyforward lugs are in engagement with the through said holes, said gratebars having centered with respect to said retaining bar when theirforward lugs are in engagement with the forward end member, other gratebars having their holes centered with respect to said retaining bar whentheir rear lugs are in engagement with'the rear end member, said ratebars never projecting over the end oi said frame, whereby said gratebars may move longitudinally relatively'to said frame and to each otheras the pallet traverses its course.

7 A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having a pluralit offrame members, a plurality of grate are arranged on said members, eachbar having a retaining portion located between two of said memberswith""a hole, a retaining barpassing through members of said frame andloosely through said holes, said grate bars having flanges surroundingsaid holes to protect said retaining bar, and lugs on the bottoms ofsaid grate bars cooperatin with said members to limit movement 0 saidgrate bars. 8. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having asupporting base with upstanding side members, a plurality. of likeintermediate grate bars on said base each havin a body and spacing lugs,like end grate ars on said base each having a body and spacing lugs,said lugs'being so disposed that the .bodies of said bars are spacedfrom each other and from said walls, and means for securing said gratebars to said frame so that said bars may move relatively to said frameas the pallet travels its course.

9. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprisa frame having a base withupstanding s1 e members,-a plurality of grate bars arranged on saidbase'between said side "members, each bar having a retaining portionwith a hole, a retaining bar secured to said frame and passing looselythrough said holes, said ate bars having flanges surrounding said holes,said grate bars being composed of like end bars and an even number oflike intermediate bars, said end grate bars'each having a body with lugsforming a T-end and an L- end, said intermediate grate bars each havinga body with a plain end and lugs forming a T-end, said intermediate barsbeing alternately oppositely arranged and said end bars bein oppositelyarranged, whereby the bodies 0 said bars are spaced from each other andfrom said side members by said projecting lugs. 1

10. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a, frame havin a base withupstanding si e members, a p urality of'grate bars arranged on said basebetween said side members, each bar having a retaining portion, a

- portions to said retainin member, said grate bars being composed 0like end bars, and an even number of like intermediate bars, said endgrate bars each having a body with lugs forming a T-end and an L-end,said intermediate grate bars each having a body With a plain end andlugs forming a T-end, said intermediate bars being alternatelyoppositely arranged and said end bars bein oppositely arranged, wherebythe bodies 0 said bars are spaced from each other and from said sidemembers by said projecting lu s.

ll. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having longitudinalside members connected by transverse end members and transverseintermediate members, a plurality of grate bars arranged longitudinallyon said transverse members between said side members, each bar having aretaining portion located between said intermediate members with a hole,a retaining bar passing through said end members and loosely throughsaid holes, said grate bars having flanges surrounding said holes, saidgrate bars being composed of like end bars and an even number of likeintermediate bars, said end grate bars each having abody with lugsforming a T-end and an L-end, said intermediate grate bars each having abody with a plain end and lugs forming a T-end, said intermediate barsbeing alternately oppositelyarranged and said end bars being oppositelyarranged, said side members extending above said transverse members,whereby the bodies of said bars are spaced from each other and from.said side members by said projecting lugs.

12. A grate comprising a frame having a supporting base, a plurality oflike grate bars on said base each having a body with a plain end androjecting lugs forming a T-end, said bars eing alternately opposltelyarranged, whereby the bodies of said bars are spaced from each other.--

13 A grate comprising a frame having a supporting base with upstandingside members, a plurality of like intermediate grate bars on said baseeach having a body with a plain end and projecting lugs forming a T-end,like end grate bars on said base each means for securing sai bars tosaid frame so that said bars may move lon itudinally relatively to theframe and in su stantially the direction of the course of pallet travelas the pallet traverses said course.

15. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame, a pluralit of gratebars and means for securing sai bars to said rame so that said barsmaymove lon itudinally relatively to each-other and in su stantially thedirection of the course of pallet travel as the pallet traverses saidcourse.

16. A pallet for a sintering machine comprising a frame havingaretaining member, a plurality of rate bars arranged on said frame, eachhaving a retaining portion, said bars havin their lengths arranged inthe direction 0 travel of said pallet, means for loosely securing saidretaining portions to said retaining member whereby, when said pallet isinverted said retaining portions center themeslves onsaid retainingmemberto move said bars in the direction of their length relatively tosaid frame.

17. A pallet for an ore conveyor comprising a frame having a retainingmember, a plurality of grate bars arranged on said ame each havin aretaining portion loosely secured to said retaining member, abutmentmeans to limit the movement lengthwise of said bars with respect to saidframe so that alternate grate bars have their retaining portionscentered with respect to said retaining member when they have reachedtheir foremost position and the other grate bars have their retainingportions centered with respect to said retaining member when they havereached their rearmost position, said retaining portions centered onsaid retaining member when sai pallet is inverted, whereby said ratebars may move longitudinally relative to said frame and to each other asthe pa et traverses its course.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH CHARLES DEVICK.

